And Life Goes On
by Blooming Sun
Summary: Sam is a new student. Her gift is too powerful...she easily floods the whole Danger Room. She's invited out of kindness to attend Rogue and Bobby's wedding...but when there's a strange attack, will she be able to hide...especially when she knows the ene
1. Opening

/**DISCLAIMER**/

_I do not own or in anyway have rights to Marvel characters or X-Men material. This is just fan-writing about the characters' futures that I made up in my head._

Rogue looked at the tall, floor length mirror. The simple, white dress flowed down on the ground around her, and one her hands in a long, white glove reached up towards her dark brown hair that was piled up that looked beautiful and simple at the same time. The two white-blonde streaks hung down from the rest, framing her face. Her head turned away from the mirror as she looked at the other women who were in the wedding dress shop.

One of them was Ororo Munroe, Storm, who was sitting on a chair in a pale purple Maid of Honor dress. She was calmly watching the others as well. Long earrings dangled from her ears as she shifted her head, and they tinkled. A golden band around her finger symbolized her own marriage, which was to Forge.

There was also Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat, who was laughing and trying to put on a shoe that was a size to small. She was wearing the deeper, amethyst colored dress of Rogue's bridesmaids. Jubilation Lee, Jubilee, was looking in another mirror, wearing the same dress as Kitty. She had a tough look on her face and seemed to be trying to make the dress less girly. Sitting on a chair near Kitty was Alison, Magma, who was laughing at whatever joke the two were laughing at.

Storm stood up from her seat and walked over to Jubilee, looking just short of being frustrated with the other girl. Rogue looked back into the mirror and bit her lip. She looked down at her hands. The diamond on her engagement ring sparkled in the light, and Rogue slowly moved her hand back and forth and watched the patterns dance on the walls.

"Hey," Kitty said quietly. Rogue turned to look at her. Kitty was standing a little behind Rogue, on her right. She stepped forward and they both looked at the reflections in the mirror. "It's a great dress."

"Thanks," Rogue answered, smiling. Kitty smiled back and looked away from the mirror to Rogue.

"It's hard, huh? Only being able to kiss him for a few seconds before you have to stop again?"

"Yeah, Kitty. It's…it's hard. It's more like it hurts that I can't be closer to him," Rogue replied. As she said this, the door to the large changing room opened and a woman in a business suit walked in with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"I trust you are happy with your decisions?" she said, but she spoke to Storm. Storm straightened up and turned to look at the woman. Staring in the woman's eyes, she said stiffly,

"I trust that you would be asking the bride. It is her wedding. Maybe she wants to choose what she likes, and would prefer me not to make her decisions."

The woman smirked before taking a deep breath and turning to look at Rogue, the big, fake smile back. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" she asked, not looking like she wanted to help at all.

"No, not at all. What we have now is perfect; I'll return in a few days to pick up everything," Rogue said. The woman nodded before turning away and leaving, shutting the door with a bang behind her. Kitty began taking off her shoes and Rogue walked over to Storm.

"Thanks," she started, but Storm just raised her eyebrows.

"No problem, that woman pisses me off," Storm answered, glaring at the door before walking towards her seat. Rogue smiled as Jubilee approached her.

"Girl, you better appreciate it that I love you like a sister, 'cause I'm about to electrocute this dress," she said. Rogue laughed and Jubilee smiled before starting to change. Rogue looked away for one more glance in the mirror.

_I'm getting married._

-----

Bobby Drake leaned in closer to the mirror, fiddling with the black bow-tie around his neck. Looking satisfied with it, he pulled back and looked at the reflection. His black suit was neat and trim, and Bobby stretched his arms a little bit before turning around to see how the others were faring.

Scott Summers, his best man, was trying to put black shades in front of the red "sunglasses" he was wearing. It didn't seem to be working very well. When he noticed Bobby was looking at him, he half-smiled. Bobby hadn't seen him really smile very much since Jean…well, in awhile.

Logan, Wolverine, was swinging his arms back and forth, his tie undone around his neck and his shoes on the floor nearby. Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler, was messing around with the "watch" around his wrist. His appearance was fringed with static, switching between his usual, blue form, and his human appearance. The transformer still had a few bugs, which Beast and Professor Xavier were still working out. To the side of the room was Spike, Storm's nephew, who continued to do tricks with his skateboard.

The door swung open and the Professor wheeled in. A rude looking woman in a suit shut the door behind him. First, he approached Kurt, showing him which button he should press next. He then wheeled over towards Scott, helping him hook the black lenses over the red lenses with a small wire. When he reached Logan, Bobby watched the two look at each other, silent. He could tell that Professor X was telling him something telepathically. Professor Xavier approached Spike, and he quickly rolled the skateboard underneath one of the chairs. When he was done, the Professor came towards Bobby. He smiled.

"Hello Bobby," he said.

"Hello Professor," Bobby said, returning the smile.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, thanks."

"How do you feel?"

"Excited, nervous, happy."

"That's good, very good. Are you all done with the fitting?" Professor Xavier asked, turning to look at the others. They all nodded and he smiled. "Alright then. When you're all done, I'll meet you and the girls in front of the store."

He then commenced to wheel away towards the door. Kurt vanished in a strange cloud of black, appearing near the door. He opened the door, bowing as he did so.

"Thank you Kurt," Professor X said, and he wheeled out the door. The blue mutant shut the door carefully and turned away as he began to take off his shoes. Bobby glanced at Logan and Scott before walking towards one of the walls. Hanging there was a clipboard with a sheet on it. He handed it to Scott, saying,

"Record the sizes and the items you're wearing. Make sure to put the first initial of your name, alright? Pass it around when you're done."

As he walked back towards his pile of clothes on a chair, he heard Logan say,

"Finally. These shoes are unpractical and uncomfortable. Just for you, Bobby, I'm wearing this stupid tie."

"C'mon Logan, you haven't even worn either the entire time we've been here," Scott answered, smiling his half-smile.

"They look it."

Bobby grinned and slowly began to untie the bow-tie around his neck as he thought, _I'm getting married._


	2. A New Student

/**DISCLAIMER**/

_I do not own or in anyway have rights to Marvel characters or X-Men material. This is just fan-writing about the characters' futures that I made up in my head._

Professor Xavier looked out the window of his office/classroom. The trees wavered slightly in the breeze, birds chirped, and butterflies fluttered gently. He turned away from the window and looked back towards his desk. Sitting there was a newspaper; an old newspaper that was dated from a few years before. He wheeled closer to his desk and glanced at the huge, bold headline:

**PRESIDENT DECLARES MUTANTS AS FRIENDS**

He gently smiled to himself and carefully opened a drawer before folding the newspaper and putting it back into its proper file. There was a knock on his door and he said, "Come in." The door opened and Storm, Cyclops, and Logan entered. Knowing that it was a weekend break for the students, Xavier nodded to the others and they sat down in various seats in the room.

"What can I help you three with?" Professor Xavier said, his fingers intertwined and sitting on his desk. The three glanced at each other before Storm answered,

"We were all coming here by ourselves, and we reached your door at the same time. I wanted to know who was going to be at the wedding besides Rogue, Bobby, Jubilee, Kitty, Kurt, Scott, Logan, and I."

"All the students with good grades and good behavior have been invited to attend Rogue and Bobby's wedding. I invited the Drake family, but only his parents wanted to come, however, they didn't want to leave Ronny, so they've been promised a few pictures. Rogue wished for her family not to be there. The only non-mutant at the wedding should be Father Ramey, and he does not know about us," Professor Xavier said, and he turned his attention to Scott.

"Professor, I just wanted to tell you about Devon Cooper, he's the one that can turn invisible. He was throwing water balloons at the other students again. He should be right behind me," Scott said, not turning around.

Professor Xavier raised his eyebrows and said, "Is this true Devon? I thought we had cleared this up."

"It was all Paul Deeny's fault, I swear, sir. He told me he'd make me a milkshake in the X-Kitchen and he'd give me five dollars if I hit ten students with balloons," a small voice said, appealingly from no where. Professor Xavier waited and a moment later, a red-haired boy of about 8 appeared behind Scott's chair.

"I'll take to Paul Deeny about this, Devon, don't you worry. Scott will make you a milkshake if you promise never to throw water balloons again. Cyclops is very good at chocolate milkshakes, and if you be very nice, he might even give you whipped cream," Professor Xavier said kindly. Devon's face lit up, and Cyclops led him out of the office.

"What do you wish to talk to me about, Logan?"

Wolverine put his elbow on the armrest of his chair and put his chin on his fist. "I wanted to ask if I really needed to wear a tie to the wedding."

-----

Jubilee blared music from her boom box, banging her head and playing an air guitar. Kitty, who always lived in the dorm, looked over the top of her magazine as she lay on her stomach on her bed. Her lower legs, after her knee, were up in the air near the head of her bed. When Jubilee started to jump up and down on the floor near Kitty's bed, the other girl rolled her eyes and dropped her magazine on her bed. She made a small wave to Jubilee, who just answered with a thumbs-up.

Kitty smiled and shook her head before she walked towards the door, and walked through it.

-----

"Spike! How many times I have I told you? No skateboarding in the mansion! You are really getting on the edge here, and if I catch you one more time, it's a one-way ticket back home. Do you understand?"

Unfazed, Spike kicked the skateboard into his hands. "Chill Aunt Ororo, you know I love this place," he said, grinning. He hurried out of the entrance hall and out unto the grounds. Storm rolled her eyes and walked back towards the elevator towards the subbasement, where she planned to talk to Forge who was currently working on Muri Island.

-----

Out on the X-Mansion's grounds, there was plenty of open space and luscious, thick green grass. Often enough, students and other X-Men were out, sitting in the grass. Two recently official X-Men were sitting out in the grass. They were facing each other, smiling and chatting.

"You nervous?"

"Why would ya think that?"

"Because you keep playing with your left strand of blonde hair."

"I am not."

"You're doing it right now."

"Darn you, Bobby, for knowing me so well."

Iceman laughed and smiled at Rogue, who was smiling also.

"Are you nervous?" Rogue asked, lying down in the grass. She looked up at the blue sky as a few white clouds drifted above. Bobby lay down beside her in the grass, but was looking at her instead of the sky.

"A little. More like excited," he answered. Rogue continued to look up at the sky.

"I'm really excited too."

"That's good; I'm glad you're excited."

Rogue turned her head towards Bobby. He smiled at her and she smiled shyly back. His head moved closer, and Rogue could feel her eyes closing. For about 8 seconds, the two of them kissed before Rogue pulled away. She saw her icy breath for a moment before she looked back at Bobby.

"I'm sorry," she started to say.

"Don't be," he said softly, cutting her off. "It's okay."

-----

Wolverine sat on a couch in the empty Rec room, staring at the television that was showing a dumb cartoon. He heard footsteps and he turned around to see who it was. There was a young mutant girl there, about 14. She had a dark auburn hair, and blues eyes were watching him carefully.

"Hello," she said. She had a blank expression on her face as she walked towards one of the empty tables.

"Hi," Logan said, still watching her. "You're new, huh?"

Her head jerked around towards Wolverine. She nodded briskly. "I've met Professor Xavier. He seems very nice. He told me I could take a look around. Who are you?"

Logan turned off the television and lifted up one of his hands from where it rested on the couch. His claws shot out of his hand. His fingers bent, so only the silver-colored strips of metal were showing. The teenager blinked once and slightly cocked her head to the side, but she didn't look afraid.

"I'm Professor Logan. Wolverine," he said, his claws retreating back into his hand. Then she smiled.

"Sam. I'm Sam." She stood up, waved, and walked out of the recreational room. Logan raised his eyebrows before turning on the dumb cartoon again. He thought for a few moments, turned off the television, and hurried down towards Professor Xavier's office.

He threw open the door and blinked to see Scott sitting opposite the Professor. He started to shut the door with a "sorry" when Professor Xavier stopped him. "You can stay, Logan. Scott was just asking me about one of our new students."

"Yeah, just met her. Usually somebody shows the new kids around," Logan said as he sat down in one of the chairs.

"Rogue is with Bobby, Storm is in the subbasement, I just saw Scott just now and I didn't want to bother you. I didn't know if any of the other mutants would be a very good tour guide at this moment, and she seemed to want to explore by herself," Professor Xavier answered.

"She doesn't know which rooms she's supposed to go in or what any of the rooms are," Logan argued. "The other students might give her a hard time."

"I assure you Logan, no harm will come to Ms. Sam," Professor Xavier said calmly. "I believe that Scott was worried as well, and he suggested one of the students to help guide her around."

"Yeah, Logan, I thought Blink would be good," Scott said, turning to look at him.

Logan snorted. "Blink? You mean the hotshot who happens to be one of the few students with average grades?"

Cyclops and Professor Xavier nodded. "Sam happens to be a very smart student, but her file says that she's not as much of a social person as it would seem. Blink is not as smart as the other students at the school but he is a very social person. I think it would be a wise decision to put the two together for the time being, at least until she gets settled in," Charles explained.

However, Wolverine still rolled his eyes and Scott looked back towards Charles Xavier. They watched him silently.

_Sam. This is Professor Xavier. It's alright; come to my office as soon as you can._

Sam stopped walking. She looked around the decorated, empty hallway. Most of the students were outside or in their dorms. The message came again and it dawned on her, _It's in my head_. Slowly, she began walking back towards the direction of Charles' office. When she opened the door, she blinked to see two of the professors that she had met earlier and another mutant, who looked about her age.

She sat down in a chair away from them and said, "What did you need me for?"

The student stood up and walked over to her. He was smiling. He had dark brown hair with a streak of silver running through the middle of it. He was wearing a pair of khaki pants and a jersey. He stuck out his hand, and warily, she reached out to shake it.

"Hi, I'm Cody, but most people call me Blink," he said, still smiling. The smile was contagious, and Sam found herself smiling back.

"My name's Sam. Why do they call you Blink?" she answered, curious. The student grinned and suddenly, he was standing in front of her anymore. She could feel someone standing behind her and she whirled around. He was standing there, and he winked.

"You blink, and I'm gone. Super speed, highly helpful when I was on the track team before I came here," he explained. The two younger students sat back down.

"Cody, Scott, Logan, Sam has the ability to control water. She has told me herself that she can manipulate water around her, but can only create a small of water without unleashing the power that she cannot control. Her parents believe that this a special boarding school, in a way, it is. As long as she stays here, and perhaps, even if she decides to leave, her codename is Aqua," Professor Xavier said, looking to the four mutants in his room. "Cody will be showing you around the mansion, Sam."

"So, you ready to explore?" Blink asked, jumping to his feet. Sam smiled and stood up too. She nodded, and they waved to the professors before they left the office.

"Water control, eh?" Logan said, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, Logan. It could prove very dangerous if she does not learn to control it better. Her powers may result in flooding. I think that Cody will be a good influence on her; perhaps she'll make new friends today, even."

"I still don't like Blink."


	3. Air Guitars are Annoying

/**DISCLAIMER**/

_I do not own or in anyway have rights to Marvel characters or X-Men material. This is just fan-writing about the characters' futures that I made up in my head._

Professor Charles Xavier, Scott, Storm, and Logan were looking through the glass window of the Danger Room control room. In the Danger Room was Sam and Cody. Sam was being assessed, and Cody insisted he needed to exercise his powers and he might as well do it at the same time as Sam. Logan had put up a fight about it, arguing that Blink was being a showoff once more. But Xavier didn't mind Blink showing off a little so he agreed to the two being in the Danger Room together.

They watched as Sam thrust out her hand, a stream of water surging out of the palm of her hand. She was wearing one of the X-Men uniforms, and it seemed to fit her perfectly. The holographic robot fell to the ground and evaporated. Her hands moved towards each other as three robots advance. A floating orb of water was created in her hands. Cyclops, Storm, the Professor, and Logan leaned forward to watch it. She swung her hands outwards, and the ball widened and crushed the robots. The water had done its duty…but it could not be seen.

Blink was appearing here and there, it almost appeared as if he was a teleporter. When he ran, he punched and kicked. He had only a small amount more strength than a normal human teenager, but his speed helped with surprise. When they had each done about 40 or so, Professor Xavier reached out and pressed a red button, and the holograms vanished. Sam seemed a little tired, but Blink looked fine. It was Sam's first time in the Danger Room, so that could be excused.

"Did you see that Professor?" Cyclops said, amazed. "I've seen Bobby with his ice, and that's pretty impressive, but it's water…unfrozen, powerful, surging water…"

"Didn't look like she needed help controlling it to me," Wolverine said, pulling away from the window.

Scott, Storm, and Logan talked for a few moments among themselves, but Xavier watched Cody pat Sam on the back, Cody say something to make her laugh, and watched the two start to exit the Danger Room.

"Professor?" Storm asked, the control room quiet. Charles turned his chair around and said calmly,

"She needs more help then you think, Logan." The door slid open and the four mutants turned to see Sam and Cody come in.

"How'd I do?" she asked.

"Fine. Thank you for letting us asses you. Storm will show you your dorm and you may rest and cool down if you like. If you're hungry, lunch is in about a half hour. I'll see you soon Sam," Professor Xavier answered. Storm led Sam out from the room and she waved briefly before following.

"Blink, same to you," Wolverine said stiffly, and Cody turned to go when he heard Xavier's voice in his head.

_Help her learn to trust people. Be her friend. Thank you, Blink._

Making sure that neither Cyclops nor Wolverine knew that he had received a telepathic message from Xavier, Blink continued to walk out of the room.

-----

"I don't get why he picked me. He knew you way longer then me," Spike said, as he swung his racquet over the ping pong table. The small pink ball bounced over the net and Colossus swung back. Spike dropped to the floor as the ball whizzed over where his head was a moment ago.

"Sorry Spike. I told him that I'd be too nervous in front of so many people. Plus, I'd make the other guys look like dwarves," Colossus said, smiling. Spike grinned. "Maybe we shouldn't play ping pong anymore. What about darts?"

"Hey, my favorite game," Spike said. He turned towards the dart board and held his hand out towards the board. Three long, brown spikes shot out and landed near the center of the board. "No one can beat the Spike at his own game," he added, grinning.

Colossus laughed and suggested, "Okay, I'm game for basketball."

"No way man, you're like, as tall as the net."

"Football?"

"If I run into you, I'll be unconscious for three days. I'll miss the wedding."

"Frisbee?"

"Sounds good."

"You usually have an excuse for that one too."

"I do? Thanks for reminding me. Give me a second and I'll think of one."

-----

"…and zen, the people kept clapping, and the vat man said 'Go Nightcrawler, go!' And so, they sent me back out into ze arena, and I did a vonderous trick. I climbed to the trapeze, and zere, I started to sving back and forth, back and forth. And zen, I leaped off ze trapeze and vonce in ze air, I zoomed towards ze ground. Only a voot away from ze ground, I teleported to ze ground, and all ze people could see was a cloud of black and zen me standing on the ground! Zat was the night zat people liked me ze most."

The young mutants around him screamed in delight and clapped wildly.

"Tell us another one Nightcrawler!" a young boy shouted, and the others immediately joined in with him.

"Tell us the one where you hid on the ceiling when the fat man was looking for his socks!"

"No! The one where Storm and Professor Jean Grey found you!"

"He told that one yesterday! Tell us about the time you saved Professor Xavier from the fake Cerebro!"

"Uh uh, when he saved Rogue when she flew out of the plane!"

"How about the one where he saved the other students by zapping them out of the jail cell?"

"If he zapped them then he'd be Jubilee!"

"Jubilee didn't zap anybody!"

-----

"Colossus! Spike!"

The two friends turned around as they sat in the grass, throwing a baseball back and forth. Kitty was running towards them, smiling. Spike waved and Colossus grinned.

"Hey," Colossus said, smiling, as Kitty approached. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "I thought you were going to practice for the wedding."

Sitting down next to him, Kitty answered, "I was, but then Jubilee started to listen to that horrible music, and you know she's impossible to talk to when that happens." Colossus and Spike laughed, and Spike threw the baseball to Kitty. Her hand reached up and grabbed it and tossed it back to Spike.

"Did you guys do the excuse routine already?" she asked, lying down on her stomach.

"Yeah, sorry you missed it," Colossus said. "We can do it again if you want."

"No way Peter, I can't think of original excuses twice a day. I'm using up brain cells over here."

"Pretty please? For me?"

"Fine. But later you have to walk through a wall for me."

"Why do you like watching her do that so much?"

"It's cool. Plus, I can't do that so it makes it even more interesting. Okay, ready?"

"Yeah. Wanna play basketball?"

-----

_Bobby. Please come to my office. Bring Rogue with you._

_Scott. I would like you to come to my office._


	4. You want me to do WHAT!

/**DISCLAIMER**/

_I do not own or in anyway have rights to Marvel characters or X-Men material. This is just fan-writing about the characters' futures that I made up in my head._

GUIDE

_Thinking_

_**Telepathic Thinking**_

"This will be your dorm, Sam. Normally you'd be placed with other 14 year olds, but all the female dorms for that age category are filled. In this dorm, just Kitty and Jubilee are here. Sam, this is Jubilee. She can make strong electric currents…while she's listening to music, it's impossible to know if she's listening or not. Kitty is out on the X-Mansion's grounds right now. I have to go take care of some business, but if you need some help, don't be afraid to ask any of the mutants. They should be very helpful."

Storm shut the dorm door and Sam looked around the room. There were five beds in the room, but only two looked occupied. There was a nightstand next to each of the beds, and a large wardrobe near the side of the room. The drawers were labeled, and on some of the drawers, she saw her own codename: Aqua. There was also lights attached to the walls, a boom box on a table, a door which probably led to a bathroom, and windows.

The Asian girl who Storm introduced as Jubilee had stopped jumping around, but hadn't turned her music off. She approached Sam and looked her up and down for a second before sticking out her hand.

"Jubilee. I'm 16. Kitty said she saw you with Blink. He's a nice guy," Jubilee said. Sam shook her hand and replied,

"Sam. Cody's my guide. Nice to meet you, Jubilee. Guess we'll be roommates for awhile, huh?"

Jubilee grinned and answered, "Most likely till you leave this school. The bed over there," she pointed to the first bed against the left wall. "That's Kitty's bed. This one," she glanced towards the first bed with its head against the right wall and the bottom sticking out into the center of the room like all the other beds, "is mine. The one next to Kitty's is yours. The other two beds have been empty for awhile. Cyclops brought your suitcase in awhile ago; I think he put it next to your bed."

She turned away and started to jump up and down some more and dance. Sam smiled and walked over to the bed Jubilee had said was hers. The cover was a dark, rich blue, and she could see the sheets were a bright, clean white. The pillow was in a pale blue pillowcase, and her brown suitcase was sitting next to the bed. Glancing around at the other beds, she noticed that the two empty beds had the same sheets and covers as hers, but the girl Kitty's and Jubilee's were different.

From what she could see of Kitty's neatly made bed, the cover was a light purple and the same white sheets, but they looked different with the purple. Her pillowcase was pink. Jubilee's cover was a dark, gold-yellow and the sheets and the pillowcase were black. Sam picked up her suitcase and put it on her bed and pulled out a few clothes. As she walked towards the bathroom to change, she asked,

"Hey Jubilee?"

When the other mutant didn't answer, Sam continued, "How'd you get different colored sheets?"

"Ask around for Ellie," Jubilee said, still dancing and playing an air guitar. Sam nodded and went to the bathroom to change.

-----

"What did you need Professor?" Scott asked as he sat down in one of the armchairs in Charles Xavier's office. He looked over to see Rogue and Bobby sitting on a couch he hadn't noticed before. Bobby's arm was over Rogue's shoulder, and she was kind of leaning into him. Looking back to the Professor, Scott wondered why the three of them would be there. He looked surprised to see Hank McCoy there as well. He rarely saw Beast come out of his lab in the subbasement.

"Beast and I have been working on some special inventions for the X-Men. With the success of Kurt's transformer watch, we decided to try our luck with other mutants' powers. I was waiting for you, Scott, so you'd be able to see Rogue and Bobby's," Professor Xavier said. He wheeled over to the couple and he carefully handed a bracelet to Rogue.

Rogue felt Bobby's arm tense slightly around her shoulder. Neither she nor he was used to her receiving jewelery.

"Thank you Professor, but I can't accept this--"

"Listen to me first before you decide whether or not to return it to me. Please put it on," Professor Xavier said, cutting her off. Rogue carefully started to put the straight, clear bracelet around her wrist. As soon as she had fastened it around her gloved wrist, the bracelet changed from clear to red to match the red shirt she wore under her jean jacket.

"Changing colors. That's great Professor, but--" Bobby started to say, but seeing the curious, intent look in the Professor's eyes, he stopped.

"Rogue," Charles said sharply. Rogue looked at him. "I would like you to now take off your glove and then put the bracelet back on." Rogue took a deep breath and slowly began to inch the glove off.

**_Bobby._** Iceman didn't blink or stiffen at all. He just continued to watch Rogue, but the Professor knew he was listening. **_I need you to let Rogue touch you. I promise you that you will be alright. Can you do that?_**

_I think so Professor_, Bobby thought in his head. Charles didn't say anything more, but Bobby was sure that he had read that thought as an answer. Rogue was looking at her hand, the glove off and the red bracelet around her wrist.

"Rogue. Hold Bobby's hand."

"I-I can't. I can't, Professor, I can't hurt him…"

"It will be alright Rogue. Take a deep breath. That's good, now please do what I asked of you. Trust me, Rogue."

Biting her lip, her hand slowly moved towards Bobby's. Bobby watched her hand move closer, but he didn't move away. He looked towards Rogue's frightened, determined face. He felt her hand touch him, and she instinctively shrank away again.

"It's okay," he whispered. Rogue looked at him before she put her hand back, lightly touching him. His hand wrapped around hers, and she felt her fingers intertwining with his.

The five mutants in the room sat there, unmoving. Half a minute passed. A minute. Two minutes. Rogue watched Bobby's face the whole time, and their expressions grew to wonder and happiness. Suddenly, Rogue pulled her hand away.

"The bracelet is not as mystical as you may think. We're working on making it longer, but Rogue can only have other human contact for an hour per week. If you touch the silver clasp," Professor Charles explained, pointing to the now scarlet bracelet. "You will learn how much time you have left for the week."

Bobby and Rogue's eyes met. "Will you excuse us Professor?" He nodded, and the two darted out of the office. Xavier and Beast turned to Scott.

"Do you still love Jean?" Hank McCoy asked. With one curt nod, showing that it still pained him to think about her, Cyclops nodded.

"Alright," Charles said. Someone stood up, who had (apparently) been hiding, crouched beneath the desk. Scott jumped to his feet.

"Jean?"

-----

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